DALLAS — Are the Bible’s teachings about the afterlife, particularly the existence of the soul and the reality of Heaven, supported by evidence?

Lee Strobel, former atheist-turned-Christian apologist, posed that very question Sunday to the congregation of First Baptist Dallas, where he recounted his journey from skepticism to faith, sparked by a near-death experience that prompted him to investigate what happens after death.

Drawing from his book, The Case for Heaven, Strobel shared his message both as a sermon and during a Q&A panel with Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas. Citing over 900 scholarly articles published in scientific journals over the past 50 years, Strobel highlighted near-death experiences (NDEs) as evidence for the soul’s survival beyond physical death. 

He referenced a study by Dr. Michael Edgar, a 40-year professor of neurosurgery who personally conducted 7,000 brain surgeries in his life, which found 92% of out-of-body observations during NDEs were verified as accurate, such as a patient recalling a red sticker on a ceiling fan blade. “He concluded after his research into this area ... verified near-death experiences are sufficient to confirm that we do indeed have a soul that survives our clinical death, just as the Bible describes,” Strobel said.

The resurrection of Jesus was a cornerstone of Strobel’s case, which he supported with historical evidence from ancient sources and a Journal of the American Medical Association report confirming Jesus’ death by crucifixion. Quoting renowned defense attorney Sir Lionel Laku, whose legal analysis of the resurrection evidence led him to affirm its historical reliability, Strobel said, “The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt.” 

That evidence is so overwhelming, he added, that we can reasonably accept by faith what the Bible states about the afterlife. “If this evidence is so strong that Jesus not only claimed to be the Son of God, but backed it up by returning from the dead, then His view of the afterlife is definitive,” he said. “And what does He say about it? ‘Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.’”

During the Q&A luncheon, which was opened with a prayer by Ryan Sadler, minister of evangelism, Strobel and Jeffress addressed audience questions, including how to comfort parents who have lost a child. Jeffress reassured one audience member, “When a child who is incapable of yet believing dies, they’re in Heaven … saved by God’s grace.”

In response to a question about why interest in Heaven is growing, Strobel attributed it to aging baby boomers and spiritual curiosity among Generation Z, all amplified by fears during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think there's probably two things that are driving it. Number one, the big bulge of demographics, of course, is the baby boom generation, of which I'm a member, and we're all getting old,” he said. “The other thing is … we're seeing a lot of spiritual interest among Generation Z … and what happened several years ago with Covid. It was a scary time for everybody.”

Addressing some common misconceptions about Heaven, Strobel and Jeffress described it as a tangible, renewed Earth rather than an ethereal realm. “Heaven is the complete renewal of our world, a very earthy physical place, not just for spirits or souls, but for resurrected bodies designed for the Kingdom of God,” Strobel explained.

“The two misconceptions people have about Heaven are, first of all, the location of Heaven,” said Jeffress. “They think when we die, we float up there someplace. … Our final destination is back on this Earth, recreated. [The Apostle] John says he saw a new Heaven and a new Earth.”

Jeffress added that individuals retain their personalities and gifts in Heaven, offering comfort that “we are not going to be off on some foreign planet somewhere.”

Strobel concluded the luncheon with an exhortation to follow the example of the late Luis Palau, an Argentine evangelist who died from lung cancer in 2021, who encouraged followers of Christ to always be ready to boldly share the Gospel.

“Look for opportunities and when God opens that door, do what Luis Palau said and be courageous,” he said. “Be courageous.”